Wanderlust Whistler 2013

We’re off to Wanderlust festival in Whistler in a few days time where we’ll be connecting with some amazing yogis and diverse teachers. We’ll be doing some interviews and are looking forward to creating one or two special episodes featuring those exchanges, and sharing them with you in the upcoming weeks…

Here is the two-part coverage from last years festival. Some real gems in these episodes. The interview with Ryan Leier won an honorary mention at the 2013 NCRA awards a couple of months ago. Check ’em out if you haven’t already! =)

      Mantra Radio - September 13th 2012 - Wanderlust Part 1

An eclectic mix of beats, layers, and chants.

Wanderlust Whistler Festival 2012 Part 1. Music and Interviews from DJ Drez, Tina James, Craig Kohland & Rara Avis, Schuyler Grant, Steve Gold.

Alternate Mp3 Link – MR – Sept 13th 2012 – Wanderlust Part 1.mp3

      Mantra Radio - September 20th 2012 - Wanderlust Part 2

An eclectic mix of beats, layers, and chants.

Wanderlust Festival Part 2. Music and Interviews with Krishna Das, Todd Boston, Clara Roberts-Oss, Ryan Leier, Shaman’s Dream, Sean Hoess & Jeff Krasno, Youssoupha Sidibe.

 Alternate Mp3 Link – MR – Sept 20th 2012 – Wanderlust Part 2.mp3

Mantra Radio – July 4th 2013

      Mantra Radio - July 4th 2013

An eclectic mix of beats, layers, and chants.

In this episode we begin with a new piece from Mother Medicine. Some info about their work – “Mother Medicine World Music Project is a collaboration of musicians, yoga teachers, performance artists and healers who chant songs to the Divine Feminine, with international earth based dance rhythms, to bring awareness and healing to women’s issues through devotional experiences of sacred sound and movement”. We hear the track Uma, one of many sanskrit names for the Goddess. Next we hear from Bahramji with the chant Dam Damodam from the album Celestial Doorways, a collaborative effort with electronic music producer Swann. Near the end of the peace Bahramji shares some words of wisdom on the nature of fleeting, and lasting, happiness.

We start of the second set of the show with the song Sarab Nirantar, sung by Hari Bhajan Kaur, and coming from the release Servant of the Heart by Sat Hari Singh. This is part of the So Purkh, a text of the Sikh tradtition which was written by Guru Ram Das. It speaks of the timeless, infinite, divine One, and the interconnectedness of us all within the divine play. Next up is an almost instrumental peace (save for a few aum’s =)) by BeautifulWorld from the release Yinstrumentals. The track is called The Unknowable. Mark Medley follows up with an offering to Sri Ganesh containing the sanskrit mantra Om Gam Ganapataye Namah, and Gary Azukx caps off this set with an upbeat’n’housy rendering of the Buddhist Heart Sutra translated into English. The song also contains the Prajnaparamita mantra – “Gate Gate Paragate Parasemgate Bodhi Svaha.”

We close the show with the track Embrace the One, from the release of the same name by Temple Step Project. Healer, teacher, and musician Darpan co-creates the piece with words of hope and transformation.

Alternate MP3 Link – Mantra Radio – July 4th 2013.mp3

Mantra Radio – June 6th 2013

      Mantra Radio - June 6th 2013

An eclectic mix of beats, layers, and chants.

Today’s episode starts with traditional style raga-kirtan from Vaiyasaki, with words composed by 16th-century female poet and saint Mirabai. The song is called Syamol Sundara Shyam and is an ode to Shyaam, a name of Krishna which means beautiful stormcloud-coloured one.

In the second set we hear another longer piece composed by Bachan Kaur entitled Forgiveness. Bachan writes: “A combination of an english song that came to me to inspire a friend when she could not feel or see her inner beauty, and the 20th stanza of Japji, the morning prayer of the Sikhs. It’s like a reset button for when we’ve lost our way, to remember all is forgiven, all is love, all is perfection in the eyes of the Beloved – it’s a love song from the God to us.”

Next up we hear the track Hang Sau Dub from Yogi Cameron and Masood Ali Khan. This is from their collaborative album Mantra Grooves. Silvia Nakkach and Christopher Eickmann combine forces to produce a beautiful album entitled Medicine Melodies. We hear one selection from that called Tudo Bem Bem, or All is Good, Good. Next is a recitation of prayers to the Twenty-One Tara’s in the Tibetan language by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. Tara is considered a female Buddha, or Bodhisattva, depending on the school of Buddhism. This set ends with a sweet and meditative piece entitled Tsok Song of the Dakinis by Upaya, a dakini being the female embodiment of enlightened energy in tantric practice.

The last track is a fun and snappy electronic offering to Maha-Lakshmi by Mantratronic, otherwise know as Luca Treu, an artist and bhakti-yogi based in Italy.

Note: This show has a few lost words and gaps due to glitches with the station digital recorder. It still makes sense =). The music segments are fine.

Alternate MP3 Link – Mantra Radio – June 6th 2013.mp3

Mantra Radio – May 30th 2013

      Mantra Radio - May 30th 2013

An eclectic mix of beats, layers, and chants.

We kick off this episode with Luis Camino & Abya Yala, and a track entitled Ganesh Mantra from the India-only release Dancing Mantras. This flows into an synth-padded, ethereal rendering of the Maha-Mantra performed by Berlin group The Bhaktas, from their recent release Cosmic Mantra.

After a short break we hear new stuff from Masood Ali Khan and Yogi Cameron. We hear the chant So Hum, accompanied by Sheela Bringi on flute, and Eddie Young on bass. Next up, Gary Azukx with the Buddhist Hundred-Syllable Vajrasattva Mantra, and new stuff from Matthew Portwood aka BeautifulWorld with Ishvara Pranidhana, a sanskrit term meaning “loving surrender to the Divine”. Marti Walker brings a new spin on the Hanuman Chalisa prayers with the track Radio Gaga Chalisa from Revolution, and the set is capped-off with Trevor Hall aka Ramapriyadas, and a song inspired by the stories of Shri Rama, which he names Humla.

The show ends with the combined vocal stylings of Elvis (yup .. Elvis), and word-flow of the members of Anahata Sacred Sound Current. The track is called Wisdom of the Ages and comes from their newest release, Vimanas Project Volume One.

Alternate MP3 Link – Mantra Radio – May 30th 2013.mp3